A bank manager saw a new employee eagerly counting $100 bills. “You look like an industrious young man,” the manager said. “Where did you receive your financial education?”

“Yale,” replied the man.

“Excellent,”: responded the manger as he shook the worker’s hand and introduced himself. “And what’s your name?”

“Yim Yohnson,” the young man answered.

Even the best of us can fool some of the people some of the time. But, did you know you can’t fool God even some of the time. He knows our every thought and our every motive. He sets us up with opportunities to succeed or fail just to watch how we deal with it. And He doesn’t grade on a curve. If you flunk the test, you’ve got to take the course all over again. Look for the God-arranged tests and make sure you pass with flying colors. He’s watching.

Tags: money, motive, tests

Randy Pennington and Marc Bockmon continue in their book On My Honor, I Will:

“Leaders with integrity don’t worry about whose job it is – they get involved. They feel that helping others “is their job” – and they teach others to feel the same way. When Robert Haas took over Levi Strauss and Company in 1984, he called his executives together and told them he would require them to disclose how they had contributed to the success of others at salary and performance reviews. Haas wanted to know what each executive had done to ensure the company’s success – but he felt their contributions to the success of others within the organization and the community were just as important. Today, leaders everywhere are encouraging contribution to the community. And they are providing positive role models for those they lead.”

Jesus’ life was committed to helping others. Even His seemingly “rough” comments to the Pharisees were designed to wake them up and help them grow in their faith. He even helped those who were not deserving, like the Syro-Phoenician woman, the Woman at the Well, and the demoniac we call Legion, all non-Kosher Jews or Gentiles.

When was the last time you helped someone who was not deserving of your help? Tell us the story.

Tags: help, serve

In their book, On My Honor, I Will, Randy Pennington and Marc Bockmon write:

“The most quoted excuse for not getting involved is “It’s not my job.” Business people step over the homeless in their path because helping them is “not my job.” Charitable organizations are unable to provide resources because those asked to give say, “It’s not my job.”

“At times, this excuse can go to ridiculous lengths. Peter Brown tells of a patron in Lindy’s restaurant on Broadway in New York who asked a passing waiter, “Can you tell me what time it is?” The waiter replied, “Sorry, sir, but that’s not my table!” Giving someone else’s customer the time of day was “not my job.”

What’s the most outlandish example you’ve seen so far of someone saying, “That’s not my job?”

Tags: responsibility

When I get back from vacation, my desk is always piled up with catch-up things that accumulated during the week. I used to worry about things not getting done while I was gone, but we have a great staff now that’s keeps everything moving smoothly.

I just got an update from [Name Withheld for Security]. They had quite a mold problem in their home after four months in the States, but they’re getting that cleaned up. I suppose he was a little concerned about things not progressing with the revival in [Name Withheld for Security] while he was gone. Put preliminary reports are that over 40 people a month have been making decisions for Christ in his absence! This is not happening anywhere else in Indonesia.

This revival has also caught the eye of some influential Muslims. Pray that God’s Spirit brings protection to all these new Christians so the growth can continue.

While on our vacation in Arizona, we rode on the Grand Canyon Railroad from Williams, on Route 66 and a former copper mining community, directly to the Grand Canyon. It was a nice ride with a maximum speed of 40 mph. On our way there we were entertained by a guitarist who sang several country western songs and did a bit of yodeling for us.

On our return trip we were likewise entertained by a native American named Clarence Clearwater who sang some traditional and humorous songs. In the beginning of his program he told a little about himself and said that he refused to perform where alcohol was served because of his spiritual beliefs. I didn’t quite know what an American Indian meant by “spiritual beliefs”.

His last song was leading us to sing together ‘How Great Thou Art’. Having just spent two hours awe-stricken by the Grand Canyon, this song had meaning for everyone aboard and he had everyone participating. Here was a man who had to watch himself as an employee of the railroad, yet he found a way to make everyone think about God in his brief presentation. Now, that’s a Disciple-maker if I ever saw one.

Tags: discipleship

Another interesting observation from our trip to Arizona, was when Anita and I had to go through security at the Dallas Airport Tuesday morning. The first guy at security asked for our IDs. I showed him my driver’s license and he compared it with me and commented, “You’ve lost some weight.” Then he looked at Anita’s and said, “You’ve lost weight, too.”

I got held up going through security. The guard didn’t like my C-Pap (sleep) machine in the bag. When he took me aside, I said, “I don’t have to unpack all that do I?” He replied, “Nope. Now its my turn.” And he proceeded to pull everything out of my bag.

By the time we got all that straightened out, I noticed Anita was having a nice chat with the security officer who had noticed we had lost weight. It seems he and his wife were having health issues and he was very interested in knowing how we did it.

It seems that God has neat ways of connecting us with the people He wants us to disciple, even if its only for a short bit of time.

How has God connected you with someone coincidentally that was an opportunity for you to speak into their lives?

Tags: discipleship